Welcome to this Winter 2018 issue of The New Age.

I guess most of us keep up with some of the daily news, however, we do that. And truly, right now, we are living in pivotal times. There’s the coming Trump/Kim summit, or by the time you get this, the recent meeting and outcomes from it. Add to this (which I would say is highly important) the recent scandals affecting certain financial institutions, the G7 summit with all its tariffs exchanges, the royal wedding, and the coming excitement of the Soccer World Cup. You will think of others of course.

Throughout my life, I have heard various people say that they never listen to the news because politics is a nasty business, a clownery, or because it is plain boring. And anyway, some say, people with a spiritual outlook on life should not be over-involved in the affairs of this world. Jesus said, ‘My kingdom is not of this world.’

However, I have known others who keep right in touch with the news, listening to the headlines several times a day, or watching some news program. One minister once said to me, “I simply must!” What I get from them is a very different picture than with the news-avoiders. They say that the world we currently live in now is all part of our scope for regeneration and that much of the world news is a theatre for our understanding of human nature and the workings of Divine Providence.

So whatever you decide, for or against news bulletins, do realise that divine providence will support your choice. It’s always there, with you, with world events, with the ‘rolling of the dice’, come what may, aiming for our best outcomes while granting us our personal freedoms. And those who don’t listen will lose out on some helpful areas for reflection, while those who do listen or watch will lose out on personal time and may develop a worldliness we would be better without. Perhaps we should hear the news just once a day.